• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Observe Advent
  • The Jesse Tree
  • Resources
  • About
  • Privacy

Ilona's Advent Blog

Looking forward to a Christian Christmas

lovely to think

christmas is a joyful season

20.12.17 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Is Happiness the Same as Joy?

advent + lovely to think

It seems as though words so closely linked as “joy” and “happiness” would become interchangeable in our minds. Perhaps seeing the difference as degree, but are we causing some emotional confusion when we make happiness and joy so alike? Pursuing happiness is a major activity, and we like to say “whatever makes you happy” as…

Read More
fairyland canyon starry night

19.12.17 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

We Are Small

lovely to think

In our world, we are small, and likewise, in the universe our world is infinitesimal. Many people have difficulty believing that people on such a small part of the universe could actually matter to God. For some this is where they have a departure from the idea of God at all. But today, perhaps we…

Read More

14.12.17 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Unexpected Places

advent + lovely to think

You must admit that God chooses some unexpected places to show up. Bethlehem might have seemed unpromising enough; but in the stable of the local Inn? No one would have guessed that. Then there was the continuation of Ruth’s life and the ancestral line of the Messiah; the place for her to meet her husband…

Read More
gift giving

12.12.17 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

God Is A Giver

advent + lovely to think

Much of the message we hear during Christmas is that of giving and receiving. It is everywhere, and put to all sorts of purposes. Human beings are crafty like that… turning things to their advantage. Used for merchandizing, fundraising, and charitable giving and everything in between. The message can appeal to both our best and…

Read More
christmas ornament

08.12.17 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Think on These Things

advent + lovely to think

Today’s Meditation Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. The season is in full swing, and we are admonished…

Read More
Magi

23.12.16 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Thankful for Provision

advent + lovely to think

The Magi, Wise Men Long, long before Jesus was born, there were prophecies written about his coming. Daniel was taken captive into Babylonia and was one of the prophets who wrote down some of those clues. The Magi, men who studied such things as well as the stars for signs, pored over the writings and…

Read More
christmas angel

22.12.16 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Letting Your Light Shine

lovely to think

What is more cheering that seeing a light shine in the darkness… if it represents home, shelter, help, and reminds of something hopeful? What may the shepherds have considered when the skies opened up with light and angelic singing? How hopeful were the wise men, once a special star appeared in the skies? How may…

Read More
Joseph and Infant Jesus

21.12.16 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Appreciating Tenderness

lovely to think

Joseph was obviously a tender hearted man, the way the gospel says it, “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.” (Matthew 1:19). He found himself in a sticky situation, that was surely an unexpected wrinkle in his hopes…

Read More
Virgin Mary

20.12.16 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Appreciating Purity

lovely to think

Mary’s symbol is the white lily. Its meaning is purity and innocence, and appropriate for reminding us that the mother of Christ was a virgin; giving birth miraculously without having relations with a man. Mary’s Lily by ilonagarden Luke 1:26-38 Birth of Jesus Foretold In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God…

Read More

18.12.16 | The Candlelighter | No Comments

Candle of Love 2016

lovely to think

Our thoughts today are of the love God has shown us in sending His Son, Jesus. God’s love in human form. This kind of love has certain characteristics… unlike all other types of love. In scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments we see it’s caring and self sacrificing actions: “For the Lord your…

Read More
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 11
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Little Christmas Project Done in Single Day
  • Christmas Carols: Good King Wenceslas

Ideas

  • Our Advent Log
  • Advent Wreath
  • Symbols
  • Resources

Christmas Is Coming!

  • Holiday Planning
  • Christmas Decor
  • Tree Themes
  • Advent Traditions

Latest Advent Devotions

  • Little Christmas Project Done in Single Day
  • Christmas Carols: Good King Wenceslas
  • First Sunday of Advent

You Also May Like:

  • A CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE IN OHIO
  • Advent Log
  • Christmas Inspiration- poems and quotations
  • Christmas Symbols

Categories

Treats

christmas joy

Candle of Joy Compilation

For an Advent wreath, this is the pink candle, or the "Candle of Joy". We move closer to the celebration of Christmas, and we may make a choice to … [Read More...] about Candle of Joy Compilation

More Posts from this Category

Goodies ‘N Sweets

The Christmas Cookie

Candy Cane Cupcakes

view more

Carols

Christmas Carols: Good King Wenceslas

All Through the Night Lyrics

coloring book bethlehem

Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem

Meditations

Joy Giving

Thankfulness for joy giving, rather than joy getting. We often need to be reminded for the … [Read More...] about Joy Giving

diverse people

Rahab and Ruth, Thankful for Inclusion

Our inclusion in a family is one of the most basic needs for mankind. All our group ideas stem from … [Read More...] about Rahab and Ruth, Thankful for Inclusion

Thankful for a Glimpse of the Spiritual World

Most of us have dreams, and sometimes nightmares, and it feels like we enter unknown worlds. Jacob … [Read More...] about Thankful for a Glimpse of the Spiritual World

More Posts from this Category

Past Devotionals

Footer

You might also like

christmas joy

Candle of Joy Compilation

christmas peace message

Acts of Peace in a Warring World

Comfort and Joy on Day Four

Ilona’s Advent Blog

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2023 ยท LovingChristmas

Hazel Theme by Code + Coconut